Menu: Mothers’ Day Tea

This year I chose to honor the mothers in my life with a Sunday tea party. I invited my mom, mother-in-law, sisters-in law, aunt, and grandmother to spend a cozy afternoon picking at dainty sandwiches and such. A tea party is also a wonderful excuse for me to unearth all of my domestic toys: crystal trays, cupcake stands, tea strainers and teeny tiny spoons. It also lets me rationalize buying more fancy jams and honeys than are truly necessary.

I was, as usual, just starting to compose my tea sandwiches at the appointed arrival time. However, these moms are nothing if not founts of patience. Other than the late start, it was a lovely afternoon. It was one of those relaxing Sundays spent lingering over food and conversation. We retold canonical family stories, like the one about how my aunt’s arm got sucked in by the electric roller washing machine (she was fine). There was also the one about how my mother-in-law walked the equivalent distance from Southwest High to Flagler Street to get to school in Guatemala. Every day. Four times (really). Good times.

The Menu:

There was just enough for ten people to enjoy. My husband and two nieces ended up sharing in some of the food as well. In addition to these items, I served store bought deviled eggs and tuna-cranberry salad.

Assorted teas The favorite of the day was a cinnamon orange blend I bought at the Upper Eastside Farmers’ Market last week. The blooming tea flower was also a hit.

Assorted tea accoutrements Tea parties are when I get to pull out all the stops, so I set out lemon wedges, orange slices, cream, sugar cubes with tiny tongs, and honey. I brought out all those teeny forks and spoons, cups, and crystal platters. Or am I the only one who’s got this stuff? Thanks to my Nana for the crystal platters.

Cucumber water Heightens the fancification factor. To me, it tastes how water should taste.

Cherry scones This was the first time I made these and they were a hit. I substituted the currants with cherries in a recipe from Martha Stewart Holidays.. My mother-in-law brought over some crema latina “La Perfecta,” which everyone loved with the scones. I also served these with butter, jam, and lemon curd.

Smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese sandwiches Like sushi, tea sandwiches are miniature compositions for the eye and palate. Mine looked more like the handiwork of a rushed hostess, but they tasted splendid. I found the herbed cream cheese recipe from the same book as the scone recipe. I mixed 8 oz. of cream cheese with chopped dill and chives, salt and pepper. I set the salmon and cream cheese on wheat bread with the crusts cut off.

Cucumber sandwiches They are simple but so satisfying and refreshing. I layer thin slices of cucumber with butter on those extra-thin slices of bread. The end.

Egg salad sandwiches I think I’ve said this before but mayo=repulsive. I’ve got to get over it. If I don’t know it’s there, I’ll eat it. Since I made this myself, disguising the mayo was not an option. Here’s the mayo-less version inspired by the CHOW message boards. Thank you JenMarie66. I ended up adding some bacon to these.

Here are the double-yolk eggs I used. These are also from the UES Farmers’ Market.

Mayo-Less Egg Salad

Three extra large hardboiled eggs

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ teaspoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Mash the eggs up with a fork. Mix in the other ingredients. I added extra salt since I was going to serve the egg salad on sandwich bread. Chives or parsley would be delicious with this. Note: This is drier than your usual sopping egg salad, but it stands well in a sandwich.

Green Salad with Hard-Boiled Eggs and Goat Cheese Disks I used some tasty Glaser Farms greens, which came with a lovely flower on top. I got the recipe for the goat cheese disks from Martha Stewart. I made a simple lemon olive-oil dressing.

Ricotta Orange Poundcake with Strawberries This recipe was from Giadia de Laurentiis. This always turns out moist and delicious.

Misha’s Cupcakes These mini-cupcakes are dense and rich, with sugary, textured frosting. No cloying aftertaste. I got these form the kiosk at Dadeland. At $1.25 each, they are no cheap thrill, but they are a lovely indulgence.